Group of youngsters save mosque from mob violence in India

The real face of communal harmony

INDIA:

Communal riots in Bengal claimed its first victim on Thursday but brotherhood is still intact.

A group of youngsters from different backgrounds got together in the violence struck area of Khanpura to keep a vigil on Tuesday to save a 120-year-old mosque in the village. Saumen Roy Chaudhury, Fayaj Khan, Imran Khan and Aritro Banerjee stood with each other to promote communal harmony.

The Echo of India  reported that these boys didn't sleep a wink following apprehensions of miscreants targeting the mosque. The villagers take pride in the century-old mosque. "The mosque had to be protected at any cost. We were ready to shed our last drop of blood to save it from vandalism,'' Roy Chaudhury told EI.

Chaudhry's friend Imran Khan added saying, "We formed a vigilante group to protect this mosque. It was a combined defence."

The group of youth had to also face a tough time cooling tempers after a local Muslim cleric tried to create tension in the area. "We told him if he did not stop the hate campaign we will just kick him out of the village. He had no business destroying communal harmony that we are so proud of,'' another resident, Feroze Khan told the newspaper.

The situation in West Bengal's Baduria, however, remained tense on Wednesday. Schools, shops, markets and business establishments remained shut in and around that area.